no, this chapter isn't going to be about how to write self-inserts

why?

well i dont like 'em, so, please respect that just how i respect those that do and those that write them

[most of the time]

this chapter is about when you want to write a story where you bring in someone normal, someone from our world and put them in the world of TVD

personally, i don't like these fics much when compared to regular fics, i think i read maybe five and one for GOT but that's about it

but, i've already noticed a pattern among those stories and today i'm going to be talking about the do's and don'ts of writing one of us in TVD world

let's start, is your character aware that this world is fictional? that it comes from a tv show and even a series of books?

is your character a fan? do they hate it? do they just not have that big an opinion on it?

do they know kinda well but not that much because their best friend or sibling loves the show?

if you answered yes to even just one of these, then let's go down that route where the OC is aware of the fact that this is a story and they're involved.

step one: don't make them related to anyone.

i know i already said it before but in this case it's worse because you're dropping this person into a life they should know, and it's kinda difficult to manage it when you have to pretend to know where the gilbert family keeps the blender because you're supposed to know that if you're a gilbert and you've lived there your whole life. especially if you don't like elena's character. look, jeremy has issues with his sister but siblings cant just break ties forever, that's the whole point of the show (and the Originals for that matter, they took it to a whole nother level)

step two. don't even make them know anybody.

if your character isn't related but still knows people (and granted the majority out there will most likely be teenagers) then that means you live with an adult (or more) that takes care of you. now, this just means the same bullshit from step one, you're supposed to have all this knowledge about a place you've never step foot in and have had a long familial relationship with whoever happens to be your parent or guardian. but you also have to know a bunch of people in town and have to figure out who you're friends with and who you aren't, whether you know the secrets or not.

step three. don't give out half assed explanations just to ignore my first two steps.

is this the part where you're telling me "no, no, miss caroline, because you see my OC Mckayla will just know, like it's somehow deep in her subconscious it's like already there sort of." or maybe something like, "well, my OC Mckenzie gets visions about how this world works and every night she learns more about it to keep up with it." or even the lazy, "well my OC Mckenna is already a character on the show and my other OC Mckimberly is like a super fan of the show and she's her favorite character, so like she already knows how to act."

step four. basically, just make sure your character is not already known to people

see, the problem with apparently just turning out to be an established character and having to know all these people but you don't, makes it difficult to keep up with your story. not just that but it's also been done to death. everyone wants their OC to be someone's sister or brother and have an OC that they didn't even know this person as a person beforehand, just someone they could hit pause on the Netflix channel, and what, after five chapters they're willing to risk their life for a 'sibling' they didn't even think that much about beforehand? or hell if your OC is a fan of the show, they're still aware these are fictional people and they're the real one, if they die it's real.

now, let's say you followed those four steps.

next what you're going to want to do is find out how your OC knows about TVD. if they're a fan, the hate it, they're neutral, etc.

can i just say, stick to neutral? it's never done, half of them love TVD and the other half hate it until they eventually sleep with a Salvatore or a Mikaelson and then they love it, like that's it.

neutral however gives them a chance for the show to make an impression, because in this weird dimension they're in, they can still get hurt, they can die, and they can end up with some major trauma. neutrality is a very blank state, they're aware of the show, knows some characters or storylines but they don't have any strong opinions about it

but then there's the question of how much do they know?

1. did they know about the show but never watched it so they just don't know a thing except vampires and witches and wolves and shit?

2. did they know about the show because a sibling or friend is obsessed with it and endured it with them but because they weren't interested didn't pay much attention. they can recollect certain big things [klaus becoming a hybrid, jeremy dying, elena becoming a vampire, bonnie dying, which salvatore elena chooses, katherine dying, hope being conceived] like certain big moments but not the little stuff and not the relationships.

3. did they pay too much attention because they wanted to make their sibling/friend happy and knows exactly how it all plays out?

you got:

1: knowing nothing

2: knowing something

3: knowing everything

doesn't matter where you go from there, as long as you write it well. but there are still certain repetitive tropes i see

when it comes to knowing everything and then wanting to stop it, and you sort of tell the group that you know the future and you decide to tell them, doesn't matter how you explain it whether it's 'i can see the future' or some other crap (but honestly im fine with that, like it's a lie but it makes it interesting) however, do not do the following:

"hey Anna, just skip town ok trust me, you're gonna die tonight, come back in the morning. Bonnie did not de-spell that device but dont have her do it anyway bc it takes care of that little tomb vampire sitch we got going on, just stay home boys. Mayor's gonna die, don't really care. Did I mention that Tyler Lockwood's got the potential to run on four legs once a month and howl at the moon? also, Caroline's going to need some vampire blood, trust me. btw Jenna, don't answer the phone tonight, just go to bed. Elena, you survive the sacrifice but John doesn't, sorry. also tell Klaus that he needs doppelganger blood so instead of Stefan literally selling himself to get the werewolf cure for his brother, just have them prove it by experimenting on two werewolves, one with human blood and the other with doppelganger blood. he'll see the difference and also give you his blood for Damon. and also, don't fight Klaus on this, all you gotta do is donate some blood every few months and you're solid, i bet he'll even pay for your college and your kids, and your grandkids, Elena. this could be a good thing. oh by the way Bonnie, whatever you do do not head down to Whitmore to meet the guy that took your Gram's occult studies position, the guy Shane? he's crazy shady, ok, he's creepy and he'll just use you to help release a two thousand year old Stefan clone that wants a whole Romeo & Juliet ending bc he cheated on his fiancée and she got revenge. oh right, Stefan you have a buried doppelganger and another one as a doctor in Georgia, do with that what you will. Katherine, you're daughter's alive, looking for you and hanging out with travelers. Alaric, you're gonna have to get that ring checked out by Bonnie or give it up for good, trust me, we do not need a Jekyll and Hyde situation right now. Oh, by the way Klaus, there's more White Oak now and we know where Mikael's at in that tomb in Charlotte so why don't we head on there and take care of the bastard once and for all? now you can finally let your siblings awaken, call me if your mom suddenly comes back to life though, it's not good, trust me. also, did you hear that if one of ya'll originals die then every vampire you sired dies with you? that's a pretty great thing to sell for extra protection even if it's not proven without one of you dying, still a big rumor no one wants to risk, and if it happens then it's solidified."

just-  warning character after character, it's not good for the story bc then there is no story, no mistakes, no deaths, no repercussions or growth or response to that, taking away even the smallest detail could set it all back.

now, if your character hates seeing them suffer and knows information that could help, obviously they're going to try, but this is where i like to use this line to explain why their attempt don't work: the story wants to happen. no matter what they do, who they warn, the story finds a way of getting to where they needed to. they can't do anything about it and it also kills them because now they have to live with all this guilt and future knowledge.

that's one instance you could go with or you could choose to keep it to yourself because you're aware of causing mayhem by telling the future too soon, even use the damn classic line, "Trying to change the future always has setbacks, it never turns out right. Remember when Biff became mayor in Back to the Future 2? Do we really wanna repeat those kinds of mistakes? We could end up with Matt as a vampire instead of Caroline, Elijah or Rebekah could end up dying instead of Finn and Kol. Or worse, dealing with John Gilbert or Bill Forbes as mayor instead of Carol Lockwood."

while it's not one of these fics, there's a great kol mikaelson story, Rebel Just for Kicks by Bea and the main character MJ constantly has good ideas and twists and turns, she makes logical decisions and brings different ways the story could go on. it's honestly super interesting, it's not quite like reading regular fanfics because it starts all the way from s1 but the thing is that's how good the writing and the change of flow is, you don't even care about getting to the love story because we get to learn about her and see her be a badass knowledgable phenomenal woman

the author takes the original story in the show and spins it, they ask questions, they have different fixes, not everything goes according to plan because even if MJ is smart and strong, she can't always win, sometimes she's outplayed like when Klaus comes in S2. she's proven herself a worthy adversary but she can't defeat someone like Klaus, someone who not only has a thousand years experience on her but the actual story is crucial that Klaus wins at the end of S2.

i like to think of it like the expression that time is like the ocean. and when you mess with time, it could result in ripples [small changes but the end is the same] or waves [big changes where its all fucked]

cause some ripples, have your OC steal the moonstone as fast as possible, that thing goes back and forth, stolen or given, doesn't matter, because it's going to end up in the same place at the end of S2.

but DONT cause waves by keeping caroline out of the car ride she has with tyler and matt in the S1 finale, with tyler driving and the gilbert device active, it's what makes him go out of control and they crash, resulting in caroline going to the hospital, getting vampire blood, and then katherine killing her to turn her into a vampire. caroline, as we all know, grew into herself and became a better person [both to others and to herself] as a vampire. she had to grow up but she also became stronger in different ways. plus she saves them a bunch later on i mean come on.

cause some ripples by revealing that you know where to get the werewolf bite cure and not have bonnie exert herself once more.

cause ripples by revealing that meredith fell isn't crazy or a killer, she just uses vampire blood to save her patients

but DONT make waves like making sure Alaric stops wearing his ring so his crazy side won't come out, that was important, he's part of the reason Elena had to be a vampire, and if she wasn't a vampire then there'd be no season 4

DONT have connor stay alive just so jeremy wont die in the cave with silas. jeremy dies, comes back, bonnie dies, comes back. but the fact that bonnie dies is part of the reason the Other Side got to hang on a few more months before the travelers wrecked it. that means that if bonnie weren't the anchor, then she and damon would've never been sent to the 1994 prison world and we never would've met our favorite sociopathic siphoner twin

see? just by letting connor live so he'd be the one to die instead of jeremy, a whole range of domino's fall over just like how caroline has to be in the car with tyler driving

now all that's left is for your character to go out there and try to survive this crazy world

reminder that i just pointed out a lot of repetitive or not-as-thought-out tropes that i've come across, but you can take the story whichever way you want to. it's yours after all.

special thanks to LightWillAlwaysShine for requesting this, if anyone has any requests please leave comments down below

no mundanes allowed
- polaroized